Ragnashak
Ragnashak Lawful Evil Small City (East) Corruption +1; Crime +2; Economy +4; Law +2; Lore -2; Society +1 Qualities Artifact Gatherer, Darkvision, Restrictive, Timid Citizens Danger 5 Government Autocracy Population 5,001-10,000 (Core or Featured)(9,000 Hobgoblin, 1000 other) Notable NPCs Shattertooth Male Hobgoblin Pyrokineticist 19 Cracker-of-bones Male Hobgoblin Barbarian 15 Witherroot Female Hobgoblin Blight Druid 10 Fetcher Male Hobgoblin expert 5 Marketplace Base Value 2000 gp; Purchase Limit 25000 gp; Spellcasting 6th Minor Items 4d4; Medium Items 3d4; Major Items 1d6 Otherwise known as "That Huge Hobgoblin Army Encampment". Ragnashak is a scourge on the area that just refuses to go away. It is actually a permanent military camp at it's core, boasting a standing force just shy of 10,000, 90% of which is Hobgoblin. Everyone here fights. Without exception. Combat is the way of things and anything short of murder or destruction of military equipment is left for the populace to decide with highly ritualized honor duels. Most people assume it would be a chaotic place. They are wrong. Ragnashak is highly ordered due to literally everyone being a member of the military in some capacity. Even visitors are given a kind of provisional military status upon entering. Anything that prohibits this way of life is banned, but particularly items of dissent. Concepts like free speech or freedom of assembly are completely foreign to the point of not having terms of their own in the language. There is no media except that produced by the military command. Warlord by Trial Shattertooth is the leader by way of killing all challengers. He is a huge, nearly indestructible Hobgoblin who commands the power of fire and earth to crush his foes. Next in line is Cracker-of-Bones, an even larger Hobgoblin Barbarian who crushes his enemies the normal way, with a meteor hammer. The lead mage is Witherroot, a Blight Druid of terrible power who is responsible for the frequent crop failures in the area. He is fully open with the fact that he regularly corrupts the crops of people who refuse the Hobgoblin's protection schemes. The last significant figure is the Hobgoblin Fetcher, Logistics Extraordinaire. This Hobgoblin can do with next to nothing what most cities employ small armies to do. It is entirely due to his efforts and the efforts of his miniscule team that the city isn't completely overrun with filth and disease (a remarkable accomplishment with a Blight Druid in town). The city is supplied by a mix of constant raiding, protection rackets, extortion, and straight up robbery. They also have a population of slaves working various fields around the city itself, though this counts for a relatively tiny portion of the overall economy. The slaves are not counted in the population and are generally neglected apart from tax time. They also boast a massive weapons and armor trade with practically anyone with coin to spend. Many theories exist as to why the Hobgoblins don't just move on. Their main challenger in the area, the Shining Legion, is a fifth of their size and dwindling while the Hobgoblins are at their strongest in years. And yet they do not attack and they do not leave. Why? The answer is politics. Woven into the highly regimented and militaristic society of the Hobgoblins is a strong undercurrent of perceived status and honor. Some crimes are committed just to test how well one performs in the judicial dual that follows. This honor has put Warlord by Trial Shattertooth in a difficult spot. Any attempt to abandon the campaign against the Shining Legion would produce an immediate challenge and fight to the death from his second, Cracker-of-Bones, and Shattertooth honestly doesn't know who would come out on top. He also knows, though he does not and will not say, that the legion's highly motivated and superbly trained forces could probably defeat the Hobgoblin hordes. If that were to happen he would die either on an Angelic blade or under Cracker-of-Bone's meteor hammer after he returned in defeat. Add to that any number of high ranking officers that would gladly initiate challenges if his hold were to waver for even a second and you have a very precarious situation. If he stays this "camp" will slowly run out of resources. If he goes he risks death at worst and a terrible smear on his honor at best. Category:Location Category:Settlement Category:East Category:Small city Category:Made by Choon